Elon Musk's SolarCity, an Installer, to Buy Panel-Maker Silevo

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The SolarCity Corp. logo is seen on the side of an installation van outside a home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. SolarCity Corp., the largest U.S solar-power provider by market value, is expected to announce quarterly earnings figures after the close of U.S. financial markets on May 7. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

SolarCity, one of the nation's largest installers of rooftop solar systems, is buying Silevo, a solar panel manufacturer.

It's the latest in a string of moves by solar power companies to engage in a broader part of the solar market, from manufacturing panels and modules to developing and financing projects to installing and building systems.

The deal was announced Tuesday by SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk and executives Peter and Lyndon Rive on the company's blog.

Despite a global glut of solar panel manufacturing capacity, SolarCity said it is in discussions with the state of New York to build one of the largest solar panel production plants in the world over the next two years.